The family Enterobacteriaceae includes a large number of metabolically-diverse, facultatively-anaerobic bacteria that are capable of fermenting sugars (e.g., glucose) to lactic acid and/or other acidic end products. The family includes several well-known human pathogens such as Escherichia coli, several subspecies of Salmonella, Yersinia pestis, several species of Klebsiella, and several species of Shigella. 
The genus Salmonella includes two species, S. enterica and S. bongori, that include subspecies capable of causing illness in humans. Some of the pathogenic Salmonellae can be transmitted to humans via the ingestion of contaminated food or beverages. The detection of Salmonella microorganisms in food samples can be difficult due to the presence of relatively low numbers of the Salmonella microorganisms in the sample, the presence of relatively high numbers of closely-related non-Salmonella enteric microorganisms in the sample, and/or the presence of non-microorganism materials (e.g., food particles or soluble chemicals) in the sample that can interfere with the growth or detection of the Salmonella microorganisms.
A variety of selective and/or differential microbiological culture media have been developed to detect Salmonella microorganisms in a sample and to distinguish them from one or more non-Salmonella microorganisms. Typically, these culture media include a selective agent that inhibits the growth of non-enteric microorganisms. In addition, many of these culture media rely on one or more differential indicator systems to distinguish between Salmonella and non-Salmonella microorganisms.
In spite of the variety of microbiological culture media to detect Salmonella microorganisms in a sample, there remains a need for improved methods to detect a Salmonella microorganism in a sample.